Remembering The Life of Setok
by Breakfast Justice
Summary: An old Sangheili war hero remembers his life from his first real mission in the war against the humans. As an Elder, it is his duty to record and tell his War Poem.  Rated M for the following chapters with possible adult content.


Fifty long years. Is that how long it's been since that damned war ended? Well, for the humans it was more of an extermination that came to an abrupt end, close to the very end of their species. Regardless, for them, my feelings have changed. I even made a friend with one, believe it or not. So many memories. I'm nearing the end of my life, and the younger ones have requested their Elder to tell of his stories, as well as write them to be forever archived in the Sangheili libraries. War Poems. I dread this day, and I welcome it. I suppose I must start somewhere. I'm the only one alive to tell our stories. The others all died of old age, or died during the war. How to start...?

There aren't many of the "heretics" on this planet. They seemed to have dubbed the planet "Harvest". It is the very beginning of my career in the Covenant. Three Minors, a Spec Ops who doesn't seem to talk much, a handful of Unggoy and two Kig-Yar Marksmen. I never did trust the Jackals, after all, the ones of the Covenant were mercenaries. Could they not leave at any time that they wished? To me, that is heresy. We're stationed at a small outpost, outside of an Ancient Relic. The Arbiter, Ripa, seems to have planned to open it, but is delayed for some reason.

"Setok," says a voice from the other end of the room. It is the middle of the night on Harvest, yet the two are wide awake. Thoughts? No. Not used to the change in time? Yes. The voice is female, and she is slimmer than me. She also wears the similar blue armor. Her eyes however, are a luscious green, compared to my brutish red. Her skin is a calmer and lighter gray than mine as well. If I wasn't too shy, I might have mated with her, as we both obviously had an attraction to each other. Mating was simple enough... But, for some reason, there was always tension, so we remained friends.

[I must make a note here, that perhaps the clerics at the Temples will fix my atrocious writing style. I tend to switch my view points from present to past tense. I suppose I should continue from past for as long as I can, as this isn't the present, and is not a journal.]

"Yes?" I responded to her. She was leaning against the wall, her arms folded on her chest, and one foot crossed in front of the other. She shrugged.

"Checking if you were still awake," she gave the equivalent of a grin to their species and nodded. I nodded back, as it seemed the right response. My thoughts were not on interaction, but rather their mission. Obviously, there was a reason a Spec Ops was leading the operation, rather than a Major Domo, but the will of the Prophets was not to be questioned. I removed my helmet and with a shake of my hand, left the room. I did need sleep from the upcoming mission, which, of course, we had not been briefed on as of yet, so I was better safe than sorry.

As this was a temporary outpost, the building was not as well put together as a ship, or a home on Sangheilios, but still a welcoming bedroom for all officers. I slowly removed my armor, piece by piece, but remained in the cloth that was under all Sangheili armor. I did not bother to pull the sheets and blankets up, and simply fell onto the bed. I sighed, but not of relief. This would probably be the last time I would have slept on a bed for months, and though I did not know it yet, that was the truth. Perhaps if I could just have gotten an hour of sleep...

It was not to be. I awoke to an alarm in the station and groaned this time. Only thirty-seven minutes had gone by. I was not thrilled. Apparently, the internal heating system of the outpost had been hit by a stray plasma bolt from a few partying Unggoys. Did they not know of our mission? It was hard enough to sleep with such a burden on my mind, but we had partying Unggoy outside? Blasphemy! I would have strangled them. But, as I got up, she walked into the room. She also had removed her armor to sleep, but obviously knew of the alarm, and the freezing temperatures outside.

"Nalara?" It is all I said to her, knowing she would know the words. I was never one for a good conversation. Almost anyone who had been in their force knew this. Save for the new Unggoys and the Spec Ops. I wiped the left side of my face with my hand, and looked up to her from the small bed. She sat down next to me.

"Setok, I believe since the heating system has gone offline, and the Huragoks are busy at work on the Relic, it would be appropriate if we could share your bed, and keep each other warm," She said it as if it calmly, as ever, and she had already moved to the other pillow on the bed. She moved the blankets up, and crawled under them, and I followed. She moved closer to me, and nuzzled my neck. She knew I was tense, as I usually was before a mission, and that was a friendly gesture from her. A few hours of warmth and sleep would be nice. I put my arm around her, and held her closer so she would not be as cold as I was. The arctic regions of "Harvest" were... far colder than anything I had experienced.

It was like a rush of coldness hit my head. I awoke yet again, though most notably, I had gotten a few more hours of sleep. The Spec Ops was in the room, and I and Nalara had moved up, and away from each other. He laughed a bit, and clicked his mandibles together.

"Keeping warm, I see?" He laughed a bit more, but then he was serious. He shook his shoulder in his black armor, which complemented his black eyes, and then turned his head to the door. "Get dressed, we are beginning the mission in an hour. I will wake the Unggoy, and Kig-Yar. Also, it will be a tight fit into the Spirit. We are bringing a pair of Mgalekgolo." With that, the Spec Ops left, but I could still hear his eerie laughing.

I looked to Nalara and winked. She winked back. We both knew nothing happened between us, so that was all and well. I walked to my armor, and Nalara returned to her room to retrieve her own. I fastened my helmet tightly onto my head, and stretched my long neck out, to get comfortable in the armor once more. The armor had an internal heating system of its own, but not enough to notice in this planet's harsh environment. I growled, and walked out of the bedroom, in my mind, saying good bye to the last comfortable thing I would see in a long time.

Nalara, the Spec Ops, the Mgalekgolo, Ges, our most prized Kig-Yar Marksmen, and a handful of Unggoy waited outside. I nodded, realizing I was the last to arrive. But the Spirit was not here yet, so I was perfectly fine. In fact, it arrived several minutes later. The "Hunters" went first, followed by me, and the other two Sangheili, the Unggoy, and finally, Ges. I always wondered by Ges did not travel with another one of his kind, but the guy seemed to be a loner, even in our squad. We'd had several Kig-Yar, but he had always been the one to survive, even on a seemingly suicidal mission for him. The Spec Ops was right. It was a tight fit into the Spirit. The Hunters had taken up most of the space, and we were forced to take places on the sides of the ship, which were quite small, and fit for Unggoy more than anything.

I heard the Spirit come to life, and I shuddered. It gave me a chill every time I heard one start. It curved over a mountain, and passed a battle going on at the human dubbed, "Alpha Base", to a far more important location to them. Nalara was next to me and she punched my shoulder. Was I tense? Probably. I barely had enough sleep. I was not taking care of myself, and all I was focused on was rising in rank. She knew everything about me, and was the best friend I could ever wish for. Even Ges, was comforting at times, even with his sarcastic humor, but he was on the opposite side of the spirit, and I doubted that he had any jokes that didn't involve how large the Hunters were.

I realized then, while we breezed over the ocean in the Spirit, that none of us were briefed on the mission.


End file.
